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What’s your plan of attack, now that we’re dealing with more “mature” literature?

Have you ever seen the movies? If so, do you think they’ll influence your reading? If not, well, why haven’t you seen them?

When did you first hear of The Lord of the Rings?

Honestly, I don’t remember a time when I DIDN’T know of Tolkein and Hobbits and The Lord of the Rings. I grew up in a household of readers, more than one being a total fantasy nut. Let me put it to you this way… ONE of them even read stories of Merlin in Gaelic, even. Yeah, he could tell you how the sorcerer’s name is spelled in it’s original form, but I can’t remember how, just that it was about 13 or so letters long. Somewhere around the age of 8 or so, The Hobbit came out in cartoon form, with the Trilogy following suit. I watched those movies every chance I time one of them came on (that was before VCRs even, let alon DVDs and OnDemand). Frodo, Bilbo, Gollum, orcs, Gandalf, etc… all these were as familiar to me as the names of my own family memebers, more so than some, even.

Have you read The Fellowship of the Ring before?

I thought I’d read the first quarter or so of it, but now that I’m reading it, none of it is familiar. Once I finally got to Farmer Maggot’s scene, it was familiar, though, so maybe I did. I’ve never read it through to the end, so it’s a first read for me, anyway.

What’s your plan of attack, now that we’re dealing with more “mature” literature?

You know, I don’t know what everyone means when they call this “mature” literature. Does that mean slow? boring? work? bloody? Long? IDK what “mature” is and why it applies to the LOTR books, but my plan of attack on this book, and the rest of the trilogy, too, is to read the book an hour a day. I’m into chapter 5 now, and they’ve just now spied the bald hill outside the Old Forest. The Dark Riders have been pursuing them for quite a while, but it’s not been as scary as the root scene in the movie, nor as intense as the chase to Bucklebury Ferry was in the movie, either. Oh, and they’ve already met some elves and spent the evening with them in Woodhall. Galindor seems to be a fascinating character whom I’d like to see more of, or again later, maybe.

Have you ever seen the movies? If so, do you think they’ll influence your reading? If not, well, why haven’t you seen them?

Yes, I have seen the Peter Jackson LOTR movies, of course, and have watched them more times than I can count (but probably not as much as I’ve watched the cartoons when I was a kid). To an extent, of course they influence my reading; it would be impossible to not be influenced by them. But here’s the thing about the movies: I can thoroughly understand why fans of the book would HATE, HATE! with a passion the recent movie-versions. The book is so far different from the movie’s story line that it’s about like two people writing about the same events, but from different POVs. BUT… I understand why Jackson did what he did, too. The pace of the book is very slow. Almost 20 years pass between Bilbo’s farewell party and Frodo’s. Also, the Dark Riders in the book have more of a sense of ill-ease, maybe a bit of suspense, but no where near the heighten sense of danger and DOOM they give off in the movie, at least not by the point I’m at right now. There would just be no way you could make the movie be like the book without losing the audience’s interest. I don’t think I would’ve liked the movies AT ALL if I’d read the books first. I don’t know WHAT Jackson’s going to do with The Hobbit, to be honest, and I’m not sure I’ll like it, but I do still love the LOTR movies, still.

The northern hemisphere, at least, is socked in by winter right now… So, on a cold, wintry day, when you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book on the couch … what kind of reading do you want to do?

When it’s really cold, I like get into my bed, snuggle up under my warm covers, and then read. I’m not particular about the type of book, though I don’t think I’d read anything that required me to think. The problem I have, however, is that I always fall asleep!

I’d like to say thank you to Reagan at Miss Remmers’ Reviews for my first award for 2010. It’s quite a lovely award, don’t you think?

A Prolific Blogger is one who is intellectually productive… keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content.

There are a couple of rules for this award:

Every winner of the Prolific Blogger Award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers. Spread some love!

Each Prolific Blogger must link to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

Every Prolific Blogger must link back to This Post, which explains the origins and motivation for the award.

Every Prolific Blogger must visit this post and add his/her name in the Mr. Linky, so that we all can get to know the other winners.

Miss Remmers’ Reviews is one of the blogs that I first visited during Bloggiesta as part of the comment mini-challenge, and I enjoy Reagan’s posts, especially the Thesis Statement Video, which has the Thesis Statement Rap in it. LOL! Had to put it in there :-)

Now for my magnificent seven nominees:

Care’s Online Book Club – While Care is currently UNPLUGGED, I enjoy reading her posts, particularly the Virginia Wolf ones (I argue I don’t like stream of conscious, and yet I loved Push. Maybe I should give Ms. Wolf a shot, since it really was the movie The Hours that made me run from her.) Looking forward to your return, Blogging Buddy :-)

Wrighty Reads – Debbie has great reviews and I enjoy her “So I was just wondering…” posts. AND she’s a fellow left-hander ;-) Lefties RULE!

Unfinished Rambler – Poor Unfinished. He’s lost his favorite blog home, Humor-Blogs.com, and he’s been going through the various stages of grief about it. I think he might be at acceptance now, but I’m not quite sure… He’s definitely still snarky about it, but he’s usually snarky anyway, which is one of the things I enjoy about his blogs. Did you know Elvis is the janitor at his library? He’s probably too cool for this award, but here it is all the same :-)

Lady Gwyn’s Kingdom – This is a fairly new-to-me blog, but quite enjoyable. I found it through my Google Alerts. She had “Reading Challenge” and Welsh on the same page, so Google thought it was the same as “Welsh Reading Challenge”… erm, not quite, but I’m glad for GA’s loose extrapolation, because I would have missed this one. It’s a lovely blog, playing chamber music while you read reviews of books about Tudors and other royal members behaving badly (and some not so bad, too;-) ), books by Sharon Kay Penman, and you can read about what happened on this day in history, as well.

Debbie’s World of Books – This is another great blog I first visited during the Bloggiesta mini-challenge, and I’ve enjoyed ever since. Great reviews, fun memes, and I love the blog theme (purple’s my favorite color ;-) )

In Spring is the Dawn – Also a Bloggiesta find, Tanabata focuses a lot on All Things Japanese, whether that be in book or movie form, or the traditional music of Japan. It’s fascinating to learn about translations, and her blog’s layout is fun and beautiful.

Also, don’t forget to check out my giveaway! I’m giving away a copy of Push by Sapphire, and the more people sign up, the more prizes! If 50 or more people enter to win, I’ll add $10 to spend on Amazon.com for the grand prize!

Okay, so I’ve had just about enough of this wispy white and cold crap. I’m not fond of having my breath stolen from my lungs because it’s so cold it’s painful to breathe in at all. Maybe if I just hibernate for the rest of the winter? Gah! I’d still have to go out to get groceries. Oh, well… I guess it’s either run away to Florida or just suck it up. Since I don’t have the money for a road trip, I guess that means I’m in for the sucking part.

So, January was a fairly productive reading month. I finished off eight books, and am about half way through two others. Since just having year-long goals only made me quick to start and race to the finish, while dropping off the face of the reading world the other five or so months, I decided to post monthly plans to keep me accountable :-)

I was surprised I hit 8 last month, but I need to get that every month if I’m going to accomplish all the challenges I’ve signed up for. There were two books I had planned to read in January that I didn’t get to, so they go on the top of the list. Also I have a blog tour book, so that goes to the top, too. And I’m doing the Lord of the Rings Readalong, so The Fellowship of the Rings is a topper, too. LOL, heck, they’re all top books!

Currently Reading:

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl ~ I’m reading it with Magggie, and we’re on page 30.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore ~ Really, I’d only picked this one up because Fire is on my ARC-alanche pile, but I’m completely wowwed by this YA fantasy book! I only wish I’d read it sooner!

Planed Reading:

The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green by Terra Wellington ~ This is one of the two I’d meant to get to in January. It was won in the March 2009 ER batch, so I’m needing to get it done this month.

Holy Roller by Julie Lyons ~ The second overdue ER book, I think it’s also a March 2009.

Tainted by Brooke Morgan ~ I’m down for February 24th for the TLC Book Blog tour. I’m looking forward to reading this one, it sounds intriguing.

The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy ~ I have a second book for a giveaway for this one :-)

Strange but True, America by John Hafnor ~ I also have a second book to giveaway on this fun book ;-)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein ~ I’ll probably space this out all month so I can both enjoy it to the most, as well as get it done while reading everything else.

I also intend to keep up on my Google Reader. I’ve done really well at keeping it under 100, which I was feeling panicky about that much until Jen and Natasha were laughing at me and wanting to get theirs below 1000. Okay, I’ll stop stressing because there’s 20 still sitting in my reader… lol. And I’m trying to post something everyday. I only missed 3 days in January, and if I can get a few rainy day posts in the can, I should be able to have one everyday. I’ve been thinking about doing some mini-reviews of books I read before blogging.

So what kinds of post would you like me to do? Does anyone miss Viral Video Wednesday? What are you planning to read in February?

I love the fantasy genre, have read Paolini, and am absolutely in love with Katsa and Po in Graceling. I’ve read all the books in The Chronicles of Narnia, play World of Warcraft, and I rather enjoyed Goblins! An UnderEarth Adventure. So when I read about the Tolkein Readalong, I decided to Crash the Unexpected Party.

January was the month of The Hobbit with A Striped Armchair. I got a late start, so I’ve had to hurry a bit to catch up, but I’ve now finished the prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was a re-reread for me, “the third time pays for all”, as Bilbo says, and my last time on the journey There and Back Again was in early 2008, I believe. It amazes me how this book was still able to keep me in suspense through goblins chasing them, Riddles in the Dark, the sticky troubles in Mirkwood, imprisonment in the wood-elves city, Bilbo’s battle of wits with Smaug the Dragon, and through the final scene of the book, The Battle of Five Armies. I so love Tolkein, and I seem to forget how much until I read his work. Next month will be The Fellowship of the Rings with The Literary Omnivore.

Where are you in the story? So far, has the book lived up to your expectations (for first-timers)/memories (for rereaders)? What’s surprising or familiar?

Have you been bogged down anywhere in the book?

Let’s talk about the songs…are you skipping over them to get back to the prose? Why or why not?

What do you think of the narrator’s voice?

Does your edition have illustrations or maps? Have you been ignoring them or referring back to them?

Now it’s time to play favourites! Who’s your favourite main character? Who’s your favourite minor character (i.e.: villains, random helpers, etc.)? What’s your favourite scene? Do you have a favourite quote to share?

Okay, so here we go :-)

1. Where are you in the story? So far, has the book lived up to your expectations (for first-timers)/memories (for rereaders)? What’s surprising or familiar?

I have just finished the book about twenty minutes ago, after tackling it in about 3 days. I was a bit burned out by the ARCs that I’ve read this month, and desperately need a fun escape in a comfort read and The Hobbit fit that to a T. I really do hope to take the next books a bit slower, because it gave me a bit of a brain-ache this way. As always, it lived up to my memories, and I’ve been running over to YouTube to watch the 1977 Cartoon version of it that I watched repeatedly at my parents naseaum as a kid. What really surprised me was that, even though I know the story, know what all’s going to happen, and know the outcomes, it can still hold me in suspense. I was biting my nails and flipping pages, even though I knew they were all going to make it through. Of course, since it was a reread, it was familiar, and maybe it is the cartoon I watched for all those years that makes it a comfort read for me.

2. Have you been bogged down anywhere in the book?

I did have trouble in the beginning of the book getting started. I kept falling asleep. However, that may have more to do with the fact that I was in a nice, warm bed at 12 o’clock at night, with the audiobook playing as I read along. There is a reason we read bedtime stories to kids to make them go to sleep, and I can tell you it works on 36-year-old moms just as well ;-)

3. Let’s talk about the songs…are you skipping over them to get back to the prose? Why or why not?

Well, as I said, I read along with an audiobook, so I didn’t skip the songs this time, but I never skipped them anyway. I figure Tolkein put them where he did for a reason and read them (sang them, out loud, even if it drew stares) where he plunked them. It was a bit different hearing them from the audiobook reader, who also sang them, (but with breaks that I didn’t care for) in that his tunes for them was a bit different than the ones I had sung. Honestly, it would have never occurred to me to skip them.

4. What do you think of the narrator’s voice?

I have always loved the book’s narrator voice, and I’d have to say that I like the audiobook’s narrator’s voice, as well. I hope he’s doing the next three, as well.

5. Does your edition have illustrations or maps? Have you been ignoring them or referring back to them?

Yes, my book had both the dwarf map of the Lonely Mountain and the moonrunes that Elrond discovered (lol, I can’t read runes, though, so what does that matter?), as well as a broader map that shows the Misty Mountains, Mirkwood, and the Grey Mountains, as well as Smaug on the Lonely Mountain. They’re labelled “Thror’s Map” and “Wilderland”, and I referenced them often, especially the one of Wilderland to get a good sense of the directions they took and how far they travelled. Like Bilbo, I too LOVE maps!

6. Now it’s time to play favourites! Who’s your favourite main character? Who’s your favourite minor character (i.e.: villains, random helpers, etc.)? What’s your favourite scene? Do you have a favourite quote to share?

Ooh, favorites… I knew this question was coming, so I tried to be prepared, but I just was too into the book to remember to pick them. Let me see….

Favorite main character: Well, of course it’s probably Gandalf. Do people answer anything else? Why or how could you have any other favorite than the Wandering Wizard? Well, maybe Bilbo… since he is the one about whom the story was written. Certainly, it can’t be the dwarves, they’re a bunch of pansies who push Bilbo out in front like a Hobbit-shield. Money-grubbing, short, lazy.. grumble grumble. I know too many people like them in real life to like them much in the book, especially the pompous, self-important Thorin (though, he does redeem himself in the end).

Favorite minor character: Ahh, now this one gives us a much broader choice. My favorite minor character is, by far, Beorn. I loved Beorn! He treats his animals with care and love as if they were his own children, and watches over and guards his friends, too. Beorn could be called “The Guardian of the Wood”, I think. And I had forgotten about him until reaching his house after the Eagles had dropped them all at the Carrock. Beorn has this sense that he could be dangerous (well, and his does transform into a bear, after all), but there’s a gentleness about him at the same time.

Favorite scene: My favorite scene had always previously been the barrel-escape scene. However, this time around, my favorite scene is at the end, when Gandalf and Bilbo begin their journey home, parting company with the elvenking, and Beorn stays with them and protects them. I don’t know why I’d never paid much attention to him before!

As for my favorite quote… There were so many great lines and passages in this book, obviously! But here’s the one that struck me this time around:

“The the prophecies of the old song have turned out to be true, after a fashion!” said Bilbo.

“Of course!” said Gandalf. “And why should not they prove true? Surely you don’t disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don’t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!”

“Thank goodness!” said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar.

-The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein, page 330

I found a deep sense of comfort in this passage this time around, and I’m not exactly sure why. Perhaps it’s the idea that I myself am “quite a little fellow” (or whatever the term for a girl fellow is) in a wide world, and it’s a comfort to know that it all will turn out okay in the end. Sometimes it feels like I’m battling the forces of darkness just to raise my kids to be honorable, integral, self-respecting, well-mannered, civilized, law-abiding, good citizens. And though it would be nice to have a wizard helping me along the way, or a bear-man like Beorn to watch over them when they’re not under my own watchful gaze, it is a comfort to know that there is Someone who does keep them, and all of us, and, though we might not understand the hows and whys, there is a Plan that is being worked out for the good of all.

Jackie says, “I love books with complicated plots and unexpected endings. What is your favourite book with a fantastic twist at the end?”

So, today’s question is in two parts.

1. Do YOU like books with complicated plots and unexpected endings?

2. What book with a surprise ending is your favorite? Or your least favorite?

My answer to the first part, “do I like complicated plots and unexpected endings?” is a resounding YES! I think it’s one of the things I liked best about Dune. All the intrigues and plots and subplots made it like taking a long trip down a winding road and checking out all the historical markers, garage sales, and tourist traps along the way. I hate reading a book where I know what’s going to happen, it really takes a lot of the fun out of it. Maybe that’s one of the things I didn’t like about The Blue Notebook, none of it was a surprise… except just how far human depravity can go.

As for what book with a surprise ending is my favorite, I’d say The Book Thief is my favorite book. I don’t know whether it was a “surprise” because we know Liesel is going to die by page 3, and yet… somehow… her death is still a shock, like when a person with cancer dies in a car crash. You knew their end was coming, but when it happens it’s a shock. It wasn’t the fact she died, but the how and what all happened in the book before that. I actually cried for several minutes, and couldn’t start a new book for a few days because of how much emotions it had wrought in me. That’s why The Book Thief is my all-time favorite book. I’ve never had a book reach me so deeply.

As for my least favorite “surprise ending” book, that’d be BoneMan’s Daughters. By the time the end came, I was hating the book so bad, there was nothing Dekker could do to bring me back. I’d lost my willing suspension of disbelief, so the ending was ridiculous to me.

So how about you? Do you like complicated and twisty books? What’s your favorite surprise ending?

A book I’ve been dying to get finally came in the mail today: xxxHOLiC volume 1 by Clamp. xxxHOLiC is my favorite anime… I like it even better than Fruits Basket, can you believe that?!

This what’s on my desktop:

and then, lo and behold, it’s like page 2 of the book. :-D The picture makes me giggle because Watanuki has neko ears (or are they fox ears, maybe?) and a chain attached to his neck and Yuko is holding onto it. She soo OWNS him. *gigling some more*

If you’ve not seen the show or read the books, the picture may be pretty, or may even disturb you, but if you have seen it, then you totally get the pic!

Quick summary of the story:

Watanuki sees spirits, and those spirits chase, harrass, and attack him. He accidentally (or, is destined, depending on your take) finds his way to Yuko, who promises to grant his wish and rid him of the spirits, but it will cost him. He has to work for her until the debt is paid off. He cooks, cleans, serves and does her shopping, and in the process he learns a great deal about himself, the world around him and about helping people.

I like the philosophy and treatment of the supernatural in xxxHOLiC, as it is very similar to my own.

So, do you believe in destiny, that your steps in life are prearranged? Do you believe everything is chance and choice? A mixture of both?

In case you didn’t know, I love fantasy. And before I started blogging, I had read The Hobbit and had started reading The Fellowship of the Ring, put it down to read something else, and forgot to pick it back up. I’ve been wanting to re-read the first and read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy for a bit, but just not done it. And with all the ARCs, it doesn’t look like something I’m going to just do on my own, at least not this year.

I think I’ll do a bit of reading before doing an update.. lol, I need to have something to update. Right now, I’m just listening to the audio book from the library, but I think I’ll probably go borrow the hard copy later. I seem to get the most out of books when I listen to AND read along with them. I kinda wish I hadn’t mooched away my copy now.

So are you doing the readalong? Have you ever read Tolkein? Have you watched the movies?